Destati: After the Journey
by AznTigress
Summary: Sora, Kairi, and Riku have a hard time adjusting to normal life on Destiny Islands. What happens after the journey is over? -OneShot-
1. Part I

**A/N:** This is MY OWN RENDITION of what happens story-wise during the credits at the end of Kingdom Hearts II. This is by NO means canon to the actual storyline of the series. This story also does NOT coincide with any of my other Kingdom Hearts fanfictions. This is a completely INDEPENDENT story.

I really wish Square allowed us to explore more of the Destiny Islands world. Maybe we will in KHIII?

* * *

**Part I**

Deep in the depths of the vast abyss of the ocean, a pair of crabs was fighting over a piece of space on a colorful coral reef populated by sea-dwelling creatures of all types and kinds. As the two crabs continue to snap their claws at one another, a giant shadow overcame the area. Curious, the crabs stop their battle to glimpse up at a veritable wall of green scales as some gargantuan serpentine creature swam over them, undulating from side to side like a snake using its fish-like tail to propel it forward. The sea serpent suddenly pauses in its tracks and heads upwards towards the water's surface.

A large rounded head with floppy long ears and elongated mouth came bursting out of the water. The sea serpent's large rounded eyes scan the area around it all while its elongated mouth firmly held onto a corked glass bottle with gentle fangs. The afternoon sun was high in the cloudless blue sky as the sea serpent sought to find its target destination. It spots something in one direction and trills at its accomplishment. Smiling widely while still holding onto its precious cargo, it dives back down into the ocean's depths and quickly made its way towards the pair of islands it saw.

Meanwhile, in a white wooden studio building on the large island, a dance rehearsal was taking place within. Several teenage girls were dressed in knee-length skirts made of strips of paopu tree leaves with lei headbands while cream-colored tank tops covered their upper bodies. Many of the girls were stretching out their limbs while some focused on making their costumes look good and others began practicing their steps. One particular red-headed girl was so concentration on remembering her steps that she failed to hear someone calling her name.

"Kairi!" cries out brown-haired girl, finally laying a hand on the shoulder of the girl in question.

Losing focus on her dance, Kairi turns to face her friend with a quizzical look. "What is it, Selphie?"

"Don't be so serious; just enjoy it," advised Selphie crossing her arms and smiling. "You've got this dance down better than everyone else."

"I know," responded Kairi, hanging her head. "I just…"

"Coming through!"

Suddenly a drum-bearing young man steps through between the girls.

"Wakka! So rude!" yells out Selphie. "You could at least say 'excuse me'."

Still holding the gourd drum over his shoulder, the teenage boy turns to the girl and gives her a grin. "Ex-CUUSE ME!"

Selphie huffs indignantly at the response while Kairi smiles at the confrontation.

"So," began Wakka. "I heard Sora and Riku are going to be fire dancers with Tidus this year."

"They sure are," answered Selphie. "How come you're not doing it with them?"

"Well, for one thing, music is my passion," replied Wakka, tapping once on his gourd drum. "Also, Tidus plus torches equals disaster waiting to happen."

"I don't believe he's _that_ bad," voiced Selphie with a giggle. "Riku, on the other hand, would do a great job since his mom taught him martial arts and stuff. Sora… well… What do you think, Kairi?"

Kairi pauses to imagine the scenario. _Sora can wield a Keyblade to fight Heartless. I'm sure he can handle a torch._

* * *

"Umm… Are you still mad at me?"

"…"

"I said I was sorry."

"…"

"I didn't mean to!"

"… Tell that to my butt."

Sora hangs his head in complete and utter embarrassment as Riku continues to sit cross-legged in anger with hands planted firmly on the dirt ground of their high school courtyard. Both teenage boys were dressed in nothing but a tribal loincloth wraps and paopu leaves leg bands around their calves. Nearby stood their fire dancing instructor, who simply shakes his head at the disaster that befell the boys earlier.

"There's a reason why we keep a certain distance from each other when we practice," sighed Jecht. "How you managed to get Riku caught on fire is beyond me. I would've expected that from Tidus, but not you, Sora."

Still squatting down, Sora began drawing circles in the dirt with his finger in hopes that doing so would conjure up a door to darkness to swallow him up and save him from further embarrassment. Obviously, nearly barbecuing your best friend isn't exactly one of the best memories to make. If he had realized that a torch, especially one that is lit on both ends, does not function the same way as a Keyblade, this entire situation would have been avoided completely.

Just then, Tidus comes back from running to his dad's jeep, donning the same costume as Riku and Sora. Breathing heavily, he hands Riku the extra loincloth he had.

"Here… Riku…" panted the boy, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he struggles to catch his breath. "I think it'll just barely fit you since you're so much bigger than me."

"It'll be fine," said Jecht with a sigh. "We've still got to get the routine down before evening so let's get this over with."

With a huff, Riku reluctantly accepts the loincloth and gradually stands up to go to the restroom to change. As he walks away from the group, the spot of blackened fabric on the butt of his own loincloth was completely visible to all present.

* * *

**A/N:** The sea serpent featured in this story is actually the sea serpent from the original Submarine Voyage ride at Disneyland in California. Since Disney isn't doing anything with him, I've decided to take him for my own. I think he's really cute and has a lot of potential to be a popular Disney character.

The culture of Destiny Islands I'm creating here is greatly based on that of Polynesian and Hawaiian cultures. I figured Destiny Islands would follow a similar trend to those cultures.


	2. Part II

**A/N:** Beware: Submarine Voyage references dead ahead.

* * *

**Part II**

The giant sea serpent awoke from its short slumber atop a rocky cliff deep underwater. It had underestimated the distance to the islands and decided to take a break from swimming. It did not realize that it had fallen asleep from doing so and became anxious upon waking up. Feeling its elongated mouth with its forked tongue, the sea serpent discovers that the corked glass bottle it had been carrying was not where it was supposed to be. Becoming more nervous than before, it uses its big eyes to search through the dark depths of the sea to find the bottle. Luckily it had been lying right next to its fish-like tail while the sea serpent slept. Trilling happily, the sea serpent scoops the clear vessel up in his mouth and began swimming once again.

_Crash!_ The sea serpent did not swim further than ten feet before something big and metallic barreled into its side and sent it rolling around in a daze. The crew of the yellow and orange research submarine that hit it was aroused into alert mode as the men within sought to determine what had happened. One of the crewmen fumbles around with the submarine's controls and glances over at one of the radars.

"Captain!" he cries out. "Sonar reports unidentifiable condition dead ahead."

He manages to bring up a video of an external camera located outside the underwater vehicle. Taking a closer look at the video feed, the man's eyes widen in a mixture of surprise and awe. The captain of the submarine soon comes up behind him to have a look for himself.

"Sir…" began the crewman. "It looks like a… i-i-it _is_… it's a… a sea serpent!"

"Great Scott, you're right!" exclaims the captain in response, seeing the monster's form slowly sinking downward. "It _is_ a sea serpent! Red alert! Emergency maneuver, all engines!"

"Emergency maneuver, aye aye!" cries out another crewman as the submarine began changing direction on its current course. With a groan, the submarine's engines crackle within its hull as they force the vessel through the water.

"C-captain… we _should_ enter this in the log, shouldn't we?" wonders the crewman.

"No, no, forget it," replies the captain. "Nobody would believe it anyway. I think we've been submerged too long. Stand by to surface."

As the research submarine began ascending upwards the sea serpent, now unconscious, continues sinking down deeper into the ocean. It eventually rested upon an underwater rocky mountain, the corked bottle still held within its jaws.

* * *

The sky was a warm blend of red, orange, and yellow hues as the sun set over the horizon. Sora was back in his black outfit sans his shoes and finger gloves which lay neatly in a pile beside him. With a sigh, he watches the ebb and flow of the ocean against the shore and wiggles his toes in the cool grains of sand of the beach beneath him. He began to think of Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey and wonders what they were doing at that very moment. After he and Riku came back to the islands, the three left as soon as they determined everything was all right. It felt strange to not have to worry about fighting Heartless, Nobodies, and Organization Thirteen. Sure, he was home and with his friends like he wanted, but a part of him wished that the adventures didn't have to end.

"So I heard you burned Riku's butt…"

A frown found itself upon Sora's face as Kairi settles down beside him.

"For your information, I only burned his loincloth," grumbles Sora, feeling the warmth of embarrassment once again fill his cheeks. "Which just so happens to be near the vicinity of said butt."

"Yeah, I'm sure his tush is just fine," banters Kairi with a giggle. Smiling, she adds: "So, how long did it take you to realize a torch isn't a Keyblade?"

Upon hearing that word, Sora fell silent and stares out at the ocean. Kairi lets out a small sigh and turns to face the setting sun along with him.

"I miss them, too," she says. She can sense him stir a bit and turns to look at him. "But you know; there's nothing wrong with being normal once in a while."

"It just feels funny, that's all," voices Sora. He raises his bare right hand and looks at it, feeling almost tempted to summon the Kingdom Key just to see it. "I mean, it's only been a year since I've become the Keyblade Master, but it feels like I've been doing it forever."

"Not having you and Riku here is even worse," Kairi says quietly, leaning on Sora.

The teenage boy turns to look at her, his heart suddenly feeling the gravity of the situation the girl was forced to endure while he had been searching for his best friend. Throughout his adventures traveling with Donald and Goofy, Sora thought about Kairi from time to time, never really stopping to realize how much she missed him in turn. When he heard that the Organization kidnapped her, his heart never felt so torn apart. He was so focused on bringing Riku home that he never thought about the possibility of the forces of darkness invading his own world once again. He felt as helpless as he had when he discovered that Riku had found Kairi first and turned on him back in Neverland. Even as the Keyblade Master, he couldn't even protect the one person he cares most about.

Wrapping his left arm around Kairi, he pulls her closer, never wanting to do anything to put her in danger ever again.

* * *

Later that evening, Riku steps into his dark two-story house thinking about what had happened earlier that day. His mind began pondering how much worse the fire dancing practice would have gone if Tidus had not pushed him down and inadvertently put out the fire that Sora accidentally set to his loincloth. Sighing, he wonders what to do with his now burned costume. Sure, he can just go and buy another one, but this one was special in its own little way. His dad had worked really hard on it and if he knew what fate had befallen it… well…

The sound of shuffling shook him out of his thoughts. Looking up he sees his mother enter the living room and gaze over towards him. Riku could feel his body stiffen at the sight of the woman with her short black hair falling over her piercing sea green eyes. Dressed in a pair of khaki pants and a black tank top, she looks more like a man than she does a woman. Thinking about it, Riku doesn't hate her in the least, but at the same time he doesn't exactly have a fondness for her either. Silently he proceeds to walk past her towards the stairs to his second-floor room.

"You were gone for a whole year and yet you act as if you were missing for a couple of hours."

Riku's eyes widen as he stops dead in his tracks upon hearing those words come out of her mouth. Taking a deep breath, he stands tall with fists clenched.

"When are you going to tell us where you disappeared to?" she says demandingly.

Her tone wasn't strictly harsh, but there was a sense of overwhelming concern in her words with a hint of anger.

Riku sought his mind for the right words to say. "I…"

"Honey, have you seen the tiki fabric I bought today?"

Suddenly a tall man with long white hair that was tied back enters the room wearing a rather flowery apron over a t-shirt and pants. Upon seeing his son and wife in the same vicinity, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on edge.

"Oh, Riku, you're home," he exclaims with a smile, hoping to ease the thick tension that was practically flooding the room. "How was practice? Did you have fun?"

"About that…" responds Riku, stepping over to his father in an effort to move farther away from his stoic mother. "Um… we had an accident."

"An accident?" exclaims his father, bringing a hand up over his mouth. "What kind of accident?"

If there was anything worth feeling unusually awkward about, it's having an effeminate father and a masculine mother. Even after fifteen years of living with his parents, Riku could never quite get used to the complete role reversal his parents always displayed. Despite that, Riku admits he has a better relationship with his father than his mother, in lieu of the effeminate behavior.

Swinging his bookbag around, Riku pulls out his loincloth with the blackened behind and hands it to his father.

"Oh my goodness, are you all right?" the man yelps upon seeing the burned section. "You didn't get burned, did you?"

"No, I managed to put the fire out before it got to my skin," assures Riku as his father takes the damaged loincloth.

"That's good," sighs the man. He looks down sadly at the loincloth.

Seeing the downtrodden expression upon his father's face, Riku couldn't help but feel he had to say something. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," his father perks up instantly with a meek smile. "Clothes can be replaced; sons can't."

Hearing that come out of his father's mouth made Riku feel even more guilty about not explaining why or where he disappeared to for a whole year. Grunting positively in response, he turns to head up the stairs to his room.

"Oh, dinner's in an hour!" exclaims his father with a wave of his hand. "I made your favorite: coconut pasta!"

"Un-hnn…" was the only response the man got as the boy made his way up the stairs.

Sighing, the man turns to his wife who hadn't moved an inch from where she stood.

"You could've been a bit nicer to him," he tells her.

"He still won't tell us why he was gone," she responds a little angrily, turning to face her husband with crossed arms.

"I'm sure he's got a lot on his mind right now," assures the man, walking over to the woman. "He'll tell us when he's ready."

"What if he never tells us?" voices the woman. "He's off someplace we don't know and we're here wondering if he'll ever come back."

With a big smile, the man brings his wife close and embraces her, causing her to stiffen a bit from the contact.

"Maybe if you treat him like a son and not a student, he wouldn't be so distant," he says. "Why don't you hug him once in a while?"

The woman falls silent, not knowing how to respond to her husband's inquiry.

"There's nothing wrong with building a relationship with your own child," says the man. "You should try it sometime."

She remained silent as many thoughts linger in her mind and her emotions were kept locked away deep within her cold heart. She did try, really. She had never been good with kids and thought that training her son in the martial arts would have brought her close to him. But it didn't and Riku remained ever so distant from her, just out of her reach. Her own parents and sisters had always kept their distance from her all her life because she was different. Was she doomed to face the same kind of alienation from her own son? Why is it that she can't feel any love for her own child?

What was wrong with her heart?

* * *

**A/N:** Yes… my theory is that Riku's emo because his parents are… odd. By the way, I hate coconut pasta. :)


	3. Part III

**A/N:** Many, MANY thanks to Disney's Lilo & Stitch soundtrack for making this chapter possible (specifically Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride). :D

* * *

**Part III**

The day of the Destati Festival was drawing near and a torrent of activity was all over Destiny Island. Excited islanders scrambled to prepare food and commodities for the festival as the children continued to rehearse for the festival's main events, the Dance of the Setting Sun and the fire dance, which are performed by the girls and boys respectively.

With the summer sun high overhead, Riku sauntered along the road to the beach dressed back in his usual clothes. He still hasn't told his parents anything and it's doing nothing but making the tension between his mom and him even worse. His heart felt heavy after all the things he's done and he didn't think explaining his absence to his parents would fix anything. At the same time, keeping everything inside was making him feel more and more frustrated with himself with each passing day. He began to inwardly wish that he still had the ability to open dark portals when he noticed that he was outside his father's surf shop. Looking up at the sign, he suddenly felt a desire to go inside. It has been a while since he's last step foot into the place.

The bells hanging on the door chimed cheerfully as Riku pushed it open and entered. The interior walls were brightly painted with a lemon-like yellow. Fake little palm trees and hanging coconuts contributed to the island theme of the store. Wooden shelves and racks held various decorated surfboards and body boards while a few barrels containing different beach towels stood scattered throughout the place. Off to the right was a section dedicated to swimwear with a handful of fitting rooms nearby for convenience.

As Riku scanned the store, he caught sight of his dad looking at a catalogue at the register. Walking towards the wooden counter, he saw his father look up from the catalogue and smile at him.

"Well, fancy seeing you here, kiddo," chuckled the white-haired man.

_At last he's not wearing that weird apron of his_, thought Riku.

"Wait right there," his father suddenly commands him. "And close your eyes."

Unsure of what to make of this, Riku decides to humor the man and stand where he was with eyes closed. He could hear the sound of his father stumbling over something and a few banging noises.

"Do you need help?" he wonders with eyes still closed.

"No, no, I'm fine," chuckles the man.

A few minutes later, Riku felt something thick, somewhat heavy, and flat in his hands.

"Okay, open your eyes," he hears his father say.

Revealing his sea green eyes, Riku finds himself holding a surfboard that was as tall as he was. It was a deep, sandy yellow with a design of a sun on one half and an island on another. Connecting the two designs were waves which were just as stylistic as the sun and island.

"Like it?" asked his father. "I made it myself."

Riku felt a little overwhelmed by the gift. The man usually ordered already made surfboards for the shop. It's very rare for him to make surfboards from scratch. He had taught Riku how to make surfboards before so Riku knows firsthand how hard it could be, especially since the paopu trees that his father uses to make them are very tricky and arduous to manipulate. Caressing the surface of the surfboard, Riku could not find a single nick or dent in the board. It certainly was the product of a well-made master.

"It's light and strong, as it should be," boasted the man with a proud grin on his face.

"Dad…" exclaimed Riku.

"I made one for Sora and Kairi, too," said the man, going behind the register counter to pull out two more surfboards with the same design but different colors: orchid red and sky blue. "You're a tough kid. I'm sure you won't have any problems taking these to them."

"_Three_?"

"Now, don't you give me that face," said the man, pushing his son towards the door. "I saw Sora and Kairi pass by earlier so head down to the beach and give these beauties a test drive."

The door bells chimed once again as Riku went through the windowed structure with surfboards in tow. Now outside, he turns to face his father.

"Riku," began the man. "When you are ready to talk, your mother and I are all ears. Don't worry so much, just take your time. Youth is short-lived, you should enjoy every moment of it while you still can."

Slowly and steadily, a small smile appears on Riku's face. Holding the surfboards tightly, he looks at his father with relieved eyes. "Thanks… dad."

* * *

Sora and Kairi were both sitting on their beach towels in full swim garbs: Sora in simple blue trunks and Kairi in a grapefruit pink bikini set with a small reddish loincloth wrapped around the bottom portion. The waves hitting the shore were about 8 feet high with some being even higher. They could see Tidus on his body board taking full advantage of the awesome surf conditions. Nearby, Selphie and Wakka were playing volleyball with some other teenagers.

"So," began Sora. "I went to the secret place after we came back."

"Oh really?" Kairi responds with a smirk, acting innocent.

"Oh yeah," said Sora. "Wanna guess what I saw there?"

"Hmm," hummed Kairi playfully with a pout on her face. "Mushrooms?"

"Nope."

"Sand?"

"Ha ha. But you're close."

"Rocks?"

Sora smiles. "Yeah, but what's on one of those rocks?"

"I see… a star," said Kairi, leaning on Sora's shoulder.

"Yeah…" said Sora. "Imagine my surprise to find not one, but _two_ stars."

"So?" Kairi banters on. "Are you feeling a little hurt that my star is bigger than your star?"

"Maaaybe…" replied Sora with a playful frown. "I don't think that's very fair."

"Why?" wondered Kairi.

"Because I drew my star first so that gave you the chance to draw an even bigger star," said Sora.

"Well, it's like the saying goes," Kairi pokes him with a finger. "First is the worst."

Suddenly, Sora felt something big bonk him on the head.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

Sora immediately recognized the sarcastic tone and turns to see Riku in yellow trunks and surfboards in his arms.

"Hi Riku!" Kairi chirps happily. "What's with the boards?"

"What do you think?" he responds smiling, handing off the red one to Kairi. "My dad made them for us."

"Whoa, really?" exclaims Sora as he held his blue one. "But your dad doesn't make surfboards for anyone unless it's for someone really, _really_ important or special."

"Duh, don't you think I know that?" said Riku, rolling his eyes. "Consider these belated birthday presents."

"Oh, Riku," breathed Kairi. "They're awesome. Tell your dad thanks for me."

"And me, too," added Sora.

"I will, assured the older boy. "Now, how about we stop talking and start surfing? Last one to the water is a rotten pineapple!"

"Aww, don't remind me!" groaned Sora as he raced after his friend. He suddenly began remembering a rather bad experience with a particularly bad pineapple his mother brought home once. He could feel his stomach knot up as the memory resurfaced.

"C'mon Sora!" Kairi shouts as she passes him with her surfboard.

The three teenagers hit the water excitedly, splashing up seawater all over themselves. Tidus waves to them from his body board and motions to them to get ready for the next coming wave. Riku, Sora, and Kairi furiously paddle away from the shore towards the growing wave, grins plastered all over their faces. When the wave came near, they quickly hop up on their boards and began laughing and whooping loud as they road a huge 9-footer. Once the wave crashed down, the three of them wipe out near the shore and cheered at the fun they just had.

"Here comes the next one!" shouted Riku. "Let's get it!"

"Wave, here I come!" yelled out Sora.

"Whooo!" screamed Kairi as the three of them paddled back out to sea again.

* * *

Far from shore, a green head emerges from the ocean's surface, its fin-like floppy ears stuck against the sides of its head. The sea monster trilled as it spotted the three teenagers on their surfboards and began swimming towards the youths with the corked bottle in mouth until it felt something coming up behind it. Turning around, it spotted a huge wave coming right at it. Dropping its jaws in surprise, the wave came upon it and washes over it, causing the bottle in its mouth to fall out yet again. The sea monster screeches in panic as he rushes to catch his precious cargo.

* * *

That evening, Riku, Sora, and Kairi all watch the sun set from the beach, their surfboards propped up behind each of them. Their beach towels beneath them were still wet after they had wiped themselves off on them, but luckily the air was warm enough to keep them from catching cold.

"Man, I forgot what it's like to surf without a care in the world," sighed Sora. He lies down on his towel with hands behind his head as usual.

"Heh, I remember when we all learned how to surf for the first time," chuckled Kairi as she pulls a knee up to her chest. "Sora fell down so many times, his hair was starting to grow seaweed of its own."

"Hey, I got the hang of it after a while," objected the brunette.

"Yeah, like 5 hours after Kairi and I did," added Riku. "You should be glad my dad is an _extremely_ patient person. I thought you'd be the very first person to piss him off."

"Aww, Riku, your dad's too nice to get mad," said Kairi.

"Don't I know it?" he responds and leans back on his arms.

"At least your dad's a good cook," said Sora. "Thanks to him, I've been saved from my mom's weird coconut recipes."

"I thought your mom's coconut hair cupcakes were interesting," laughed Kairi.

"Ugh, tell that to my toilet," cringed Sora. "Waaay too much fiber, I say."

"Aww, too much information, man," groaned Riku as he closes his eyes.

The three of them burst out laughing. As soon as the laughter died down, Kairi was the first to speak.

"I wonder what my parents were like," she says as she stares out towards the ocean. "I remember my grandmother, but I don't know what happened to her."

The two boys look at one another and then back to their female friend.

"I'm sure they all love you very much," spoke up Sora.

Kairi looks down at him and smiles. "Thanks. I just wish there was a way to find out what happened to them." She pauses. "What about you, Sora? Where do you think your dad went?"

Sora fell silent as the twinkle that was in his eyes suddenly disappeared. "I… I don't know."

"Maybe…" spoke up Riku hopefully. "Maybe… he's on another world and trying to find his way home."

"Yeah…" uttered Sora, though it was evident in the tone of his voice that he really didn't believe that.

Riku turns his gaze towards the ocean. "I still haven't told my parents what happened."

"Should we?" wonder Kairi, thinking about her adoptive parents.

"Kind of hard to explain," said Sora. "Especially since I don't remember anything during that one year."

"Yeah, that was really weird," added Kairi. "Everyone remembered Riku, but I was the only one who remembered you."

"Guess it's part of being the Keyblade Master," sighed Sora.

"But at the very least," began Kairi. "We should tell them what happened. They deserve that at least since we made them all worry so much."

Riku simply stared out silently at the waves as the sun slowly fell below the horizon deep in thought.

_What should I do?_


End file.
